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Saturday, 12 September 2015

Palestine is a geographic
state in Western Asia sited on the eastern shore of Mediterranean Sea and the
West of Jordan River. Palestine is the name the given to the land by Romans in
the second century. The word Palestine is derived from the Greek term Palaestina,
or Land of the Philistines. It is also called the Holy Land as it is sacred for
all the three religions Christians, Jews, and Muslims. Many important events of
each religion had occurred on the land, mostly in Jerusalem. The region has a
rich history of human environment, agricultural societies and culture. Palestine
in the earliest days was part of that section of the land which is known as
Canaan. Later on, it was the region where the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah were
located.

Palestine's geological
area has the land which was conquered time after time by the great kingdoms
such as Assyrian, Babylonian, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman that had control of
Mediterranean and the Middle East. The regions which are once part of this land
are Israel, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and parts of Egypt, Jordan, and
Syria. During World War I the British government captured Jerusalem. Britain
got authorization over Palestine in 1922. The land was under direct British
administration until 1948. In 1947, the British Government declared its plan to
end its rule over Palestine. The United Nations General Assembly decided to
divide Palestine into two independent states Arab and Jewish. And a special
international rule for Jerusalem. The Arabs didn’t accept the plan of partition
of Palestine, but the Jews announced the independence of the State of Israel in
1948.

Those facts which create
the modern history of Palestine are end of the British rule, the division of
Palestine and emerging of new state of Israel, and the consequent
Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many wars fought between isreal and Palestine in
1948, 1967 and others. In 1993, The Palestinian national movement gradually
creates The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The PLO under the command of Yasser Arafat
step by step internationally recognize as the representative of the Palestinian
people and their top umbrella and sheltering group. Different political groups come into power in
Palestine from time to time. In 2006; Hamas won the Palestinian legislative
elections and defeat the PLO and Fatah. It took control of the Gaza Strip in
2007. This will start a never ending exchange of violence between isreal and
Palestine. In 2008-09 and again in 2014, Israel started military operation
against Palestine and bombed militants in Gaza. These operations were highly
criticized by the world for causing civilian deaths.

In October 2011, State of
Palestine became the member of UNESCO. In 2012, it gained the status of
non-member observer state in the United Nations. It is a major step or progress
that let it to participate in General Assembly debates and smooth its ways to
join other UN agencies. The main problem for the Palestinians at the start of
the 21st century was the constant struggle for a homeland and freedom in
Palestine. Joblessness and shortage of the things of basic need are also major
problems. The majority of the population is of the young people who have never
spent life outside a refugee camp. They only see in their daily lives the
conflict, bloodshed, uncontrolled unemployment, and frequent instability. The
roots of Palestinian financial system are completely in agriculture, livestock
and fishing. 90 percent of the economy and external trade of Palestine depend
on isreal.

Since last few years, Palestinian
economy had faced grave setbacks. It is difficult for Palestinian to get jobs
in isreal especially after the year 1987 as stress between Israelis and Palestinians
Increased in last years. But in 1998 by opening the new Gaza International
Airport, Palestinians are hopeful that it will improve the economy. State can
now Trade directly with Europe rather than depending on isreal. Islam is the
prime religion in Palestine, comprising about 75percent of the population. Most
Palestinian Muslims belong to the Sunni faith. The education plays a key role
in the history of the countries. In Palestine Education is a priority and a
prime important matter. Obtaining a university degree is a high priority for
Palestinians. The school system of Gaza is based on Egypt's educational system
and the West Bank's system has its roots in Jordan’s system. The Palestinian
population is under age fifteen so there are several educational and cultural
centers at each level of education. There are different schools for different class
of children. Most children get a free education from government institutes from
kindergarten to high school. Children from rich families may go an Islamic or a
Christian school of their choice.

There is a huge gap
between the different communities in Palestine. Two separate lifestyles within
the Palestinian community have been coming out since few years. These distinct
cultures are adding to the frustration and anger of ordinary Palestinians. one
extreme group of Palestinians are those who were sophisticated and qualified
from private schools and mostly were living in the United States and Europe
before their parents came back to their homeland in Palestine, many after the
1993 Oslo settlements, moving back with their children. Those classes of people
get the most excellent jobs through social or political links, and many show
off their money and cars. At the other side, these are the people who are in
majority in Palestine. Those are the extreme who remained in Palestine the
whole time even during the Israeli occupation and who pass their days doing
basic everyday jobs in poor quality. The gap between rich and poor may create a
bigger dilemma than achieving the goals sought in negotiating the final
sovereignty status of the territories.

In 1993, a first step to
Palestinian rule in the occupied regions was signing an historical accord with
isreal in which isreal first time directly negotiate with PLO and reached to
the conclusion of limited Palestinian independence in Gaza and Jericho city in
the West Bank. The Palestinian National Authority (PNA) was made arrangement
for an instrument of Palestinian temporary self-governance. In the beginning of
1996, most of the areas in the West Bank had come under Palestinian control. The
PNA consist of 88 members of Palestinian Legislative Council which is an
elected body. Yasser Arafat was elected president in 1996. In the initial
months of 2001, Arafat had the de facto actual government of the occupied
areas. The Palestinian National Authority has set up a judicial system
also. However, the Palestinian land had
a rich regional and cultural history but the fact is that the unending
bloodshed by the isreal armed forces constantly crushing the peace process and
peace agreements. A peaceful and stable Palestinian state in the Middle East
still seemed hard to imagine at the beginning of the twenty-first century.